Month: July 2016

Water All Around – – Frank Boston, retired Air Force Pararescueman, experienced two separate incidents involving three back-to-back deaths early in his Air Force career. He concluded after the second incident that he has a strange power he calls nose-smell, a sort of mystic instinct of seeing who will die in a group of related deaths. He goes years without using his ability until a small girl drowns in a pond on the nearby Air Force Base. He knows two more water related deaths will soon follow. Frank’s mission: to identify the two future victims and prevent their death in the near future.

Korea x 2 – – The Korean CIA Director is killed by a North Korean assassin. Counterfeiting, drugs, and weapons of terror finance the North Korean government. Three Air Force Pararescuemen and a CIA Officer join with the South Korean 707th Brigade, a team of female assassins, to form a team, known only by President Reagan and CIA Director Casey, as “the Silent Six.” Their task: the destruction of the North Korean gangster regime. “The Silent Six” is the ultimate Special Operations Team. http://amzn.to/2a9bVan Another 5 star book.

MY FREE BOOK bit.ly/29p7eL3 is a 400 page Mega Bundle of erotic, gonzo erotic of novellas and short stories. Two bonus books are included.

I’m offering anyone who reads the book a chance to win a $25 dollar Amazon gift card. If you write a review, you have a second chance of winning the card.

Here’s how it works.

Beginning, July 15, 2016, there will be a code before the two bonus books included in the bundle. You can’t miss it. Write the bonus code down and email it to me. I will put you email in the drawing which will be at midnightJuly 31st, PDT. You’ll be notified by email on Monday, August 01, 2016 by 5pm, PDT.

If you write a review, send me the information and I’ll put you in the drawing again. It will double your chances.

Reviews:

You’re not required to give the book a good review. Just an honest opinion.

Reading the book:

You’re not required to actually read the whole book. However skimming it enough to get to the code will be required.

Legalities:

Void where prohibited by law. Only one winner will be drawn. Odds are winning are based on the number of people who read the book. Ex: if 100 read the book then your chances are 1:100 – If you also write a review (even a bad one) your odds are 2:100 .

This is an effort to reward my readers with something other than a free book.

The $25 dollar Amazon Gift Card will be email (with the code) to the winning reader.

Part 2 of Radio Interview a few days ago: “What’s it like being a Kindle Writer”

A few days ago, I was interviewed on a radio talk show about what it’s like being a Kindle writer. Here is part 2 of the question and answer session. Part 1 was why I write what I write.

Amazon has the market cornered. Does it concern you that Amazon has so much power?

Yes and no. I understand that Amazon controls about 80% of the retail book selling market. It’s just something all writers have to live with as I don’t see it changing any time soon. Personally, I like competition because I think it’s good for business and the economy. Readers are consumers and books are like any other product.

But, isn’t that a monopoly?

Yes, but writers have alternatives if they wish to go wide with their books. Barns & Nobles, Kobo and a few others also sell the type of books I write.

What is going wide?

Going wide means that the writer sells a particular book on more than one retail site; like Amazon and B&N. The problem with that is on Amazon, you have to disclose that you’re going wide and you only get paid 35% of the price of the book. Whereas, if you sell exclusively with Amazon you make 70% from the book.

Many writers think that since Amazon already controls 80% of the market, it doesn’t pay to sell anywhere else since the other book stores wouldn’t generate enough sales to make up the difference.

Where do you see book publishing going in the future?

I’m such a small author I’m not sure I’m the best person to ask. But, I can say that before Amazon came along and started KDP (Kindle Desktop Publishing) independent writers really had no place to publish their books and make any significant money. So, from that respect—Amazon changed the game.

On the other hand, Amazon changed their price structure for those independent authors. It used to be that under the old system of KU 1.0, a writer would be paid about $1.40 each time her book was downloaded. Now, under KU 2.0, the writer makes less than one half of 1¢ per page read.

Why did they do that?

Authors who were writing longer length material such as novels that are 300-400 pages long were being paid the same as someone who wrote a short story of about 25-30 pages. They didn’t think the price structure was fair. So, Amazon started paying writers by the number of pages read verses by the number of books as in KU 1.0

Do you think that’s fair?

It’s complicated. I enjoy writing short erotic fiction. And, I don’t fluffing a book just to add pages. Most writers now write longer works. But, there are quite a number of new writers coming to the scene who still write short stories. Some bundle their stories into longer books, but some still sell short stories as standalone books.

In the end Kindle Unlimited is a good thing—but it all comes down to selling the book. It always has from the three plus years I’ve been doing this.

Do you write full time?

Yes, but I also have a daytime job. I put in about 30+ hours a week writing, editing and marketing my books.

Where do you market?

Twitter. And, I do it myself—I don’t farm it out to a company to do it for me. My Twitter name is @HeatherErotica so please follow me. And you can find my blog at HeatherKeyesAuthor.wordpress.com

Part 3 will be coming up in a few days. Thanks for reading and please check out my author page on Amazon. Author Page on Amazon

No, Heather Keyes is a pen name I use when I write erotica and erotic romance.

Do you have other pen names?

Like most writers who self publish I write a variety of many things. I have an erotica pen name, a romance pen name, a self help pen name and another pen name for other things that can fit into that category.

How many authors write erotica?

It’s hard to say, I would guess around 3,000 – 5,000 write enough to land on Amazon’s list of ranked authors.

Tell me about your books?

I write short story erotica – something I call gonzo erotica because I get right into the sex without much backstory. I also write erotic romance which is usually short novellas around 20,000 words. Those stories usually have a plot, some backstory and a twist in the action. And, to be sure it has plenty of sex action in the book.

Do you ever white about things that have happened in your real life? How similar is your writing to your actual life?

There’s always a little of my in every book. I think it’s like that with any writer. You either have a fantasy about it or you have come pretty close to doing it in real life. Personally, I have more fantasies than I do actual experience – sadly.

Are you married?

No

Have you ever been married?

Yes, a few years ago. We are still friends.

When did you first start writing?

Three years ago, before Amazon jumped to KU 2.0 and when writers made more money with their erotica.

What is KU 2.0?

Kindle Unlimited. Readers can buy a month-to-month membership for $9.99 and they can read an unlimited amount of books that authors put in Kindle Unlimited.

What is different now?

Before the 2.0, which is the latest version, authors made more money because each short story was paid at an average rate of around $1.40 per book. Now, writers are paid less than one-half of one cent for each paid read.

Do you make money with your writing?

I make more money writing for other authors. But, each short story, if it sells, makes me about 12 cents per book in Kindle Unlimited. Certainly, you can’t live on that. Most authors are forced to write longer works hoping they can made up the difference.

Are any authors making good money in writing?

There are some to be sure. If you have a big name and have a good marketing plan you can make a living. But, it’s much harder for new authors to bust out and become a success. It takes more time and effort. It’s a learning curve to be sure.